Tag Archives: wine tasting

Oh, we made it through the week! We certainly deserve a cocktail in celebration, don’t we?

1.If you follow me on Instagram (you totally should), you know I’m a big fan of both Manhattans (up, please) and Old Fashioneds with bourbon. No rye for this girl.This update on an Old Fashioned adds peach and orange flowers!! I can’t wait to try.

2. Cassoulet is one of my absolute favorite French dishes. Thanks to this 7×7 article, I can now replicate the tasty version from SF’s oldest French bistro, Le Central Bistro.

3. Despite laughing through this entire list of things that happen while wine tasting, I can’t help but nod my head in agreement with just about all of them. We’ve all been there, ya?

4. I’m always looking for plants that I can keep alive for longer than a month. Thanks to Sunset’s awesome cactus styling video, now I can look like I know what I’m doing!

5. Summer is coming to a close, but I’m still itching to get a few of these done when I head up to Tahoe later this month!

How are you prepping for the end of summer / beginning of autumn? I can’t wait to start baking!

As most of you know, I live in the Napa Valley. Because of this, I am frequently asked where to go for food, wine, and the best Napa experiences. While various wineries all have different niches they fill (small private parties vs. groups vs. food pairings vs. art displays, etc.), one of the wineries I always recommend to Napa newbs and am always bringing groups to is V. Sattui in St. Helena, CA off of the famous Highway 29.! Surely you’ve realized now that I love playing tourist in my backyard!

Recently, I was contacted by RelayRides to take part in their Hometown Hidden Gems page on Pinterest. I have to admit that I hadn’t heard of RelayRides until they contacted me. It’s a peer-to-peer way of sharing cars, sort of like an AirBnB, and it makes a lot of sense for people who either don’t use their cars often or who travel a lot. There are options to either rent your own car out (and make some skrilla on the side) or to rent a car when you need one for a reasonable price. RelayRides also has pretty sweet sounding airport rental program at SFO where you can leave your car there for free parking! when you fly out and some money if your car is rented while you’re away. This is great for people heading into SFO to head up to Napa Valley 🙂 Anyway, I was excited to share one of the “hidden gems” of Napa Valley that first came to mind for me, V. Sattui.

Yes, I am now year older, but I’d like to think I’m a tad bit wiser. I’m still pretty thrilled to be considered a 20-something, but close enough to 30 to begin preparing for that big day by drinking copious amounts of wine.

Birthday Month, as I like to celebrate, has been splendid so far! My lovely mother made me Great-Grandma Emogene’s Coconut Cake (my fave) for my family celebration. Darling friends and family have treated me to cocktails and dinners and I have a few more scheduled. Free booze and food alongside great company? Birthday Month is the best, guys.

Pinky promise that I didn’t turn 10 this year..

So thank you for all of the birthday wishes, you all have made me feel special! I have tons in store for posting in the upcoming weeks– wine tastings, tasty recipes and a few of my favorite restaurants. Looking forward to sharing it all with you! xx Natalie

One of the absolute best things about living in the Napa Valley is the access to fabulous food and wine. Seriously, moving back after college has done absolutely nothing for my waistline. It’s just so hard to say no to brunches, lunches, and wine tasting trips. And then, of course, friends want to partake. I have to be hospitable, no? This is what I like to call “playing tourist”. Because, sometimes, locals and natives like to learn about their home, too! Read the rest of this entry →

Mike Mike Mike…Mike what day is it Mike? Click here if you have no idea what that is referring to. It’s Wednesday, y’all. Two more workdays til the weekend. And a mini Prague reunion at Oktoberfest by the Bay in San Francisco!

Some lovely things have happened recently–

Booked my Eurostar ticket from London to Paris! Now, all transportation bookings are complete! Unless I make a side trip..

I figured out what neighborhood/area to look to stay in London, thanks to the fabulous Mrs. O. She recommended anywhere in the West End. I happily set forth searching!

Once I narrowed down which neighborhood to stay in, I perused various house listing sites (think Airbnb, VRBO, Go With Oh!, etc.) for days. I was thrilled actually found a reasonably-priced place in London’s West End on Airbnb!

Thanks to the lovely ladies at The Lazy Travelers, who confirmed that my NYC neighborhood picks were acceptable, I now know which streets to stay around (errr.. below? I’m new.) and which to stay away from when booking an apartment for that leg of the trip. NYC is the final accommodation I have to book!

Speaking of accommodations… Over Labor Day weekend, I headed up to Mendocino for a little r&r before a crazy work week/weekend. After lots of back and forth-ing between options, we decided to stay at the Andiron Seaside Inn & Cabins in Little River, CA, just a short drive from Mendocino. It was a perfect accommodation choice for us! Here’s why I’m glad we stayed at the Andiron: Read the rest of this entry →

It’s always such a sad day when birthday week is over. Last year, I celebrated birthday month, and left the good ol’ Napa Valley for some Tahoe time. But I just don’t think that’s going to happen this year. So, rather than be super bummed that I can no longer pull my trump card to […]

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